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--> --> April 23: Grizz boys pound Cavemen By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings No contest. The Ashland High boys tennis team Monday won every match in straight sets in a business-as-usual 9-0 victory over Grants Pass High at Hunter Park. The Grizzlies' top three singles players - Ari Zaslow, Shane Lloyd and Jonathan Willing - won a combined 36 games and dropped just two, as Ashland improved to 8-2 on the season, 6-1 in the Southern Oregon Conference. "We played well," Ashland coach Dick Streng said. "I thought (Lloyd) as well as Ari Zaslow at No. 1 played well. Also, both of the top doubles teams for us were pretty strong, pretty efficient, worked on a couple shots that they needed to and played relatively error free." Zaslow, a junior who's been playing No. 1 singles for Ashland all season, set the tone by routing Darren Welch 6-0, 6-0. Lloyd, a junior, slammed Ali Kamalion 6-0, 6-2 in the No. 2 singles match and Willing, a junior, had no mercy in a 6-0, 6-0 No. 3 singles win over A.J. Burmeiste. Grizz seniors Nick Foster (No. 4) and Matt Sander (No. 5) also picked up straight set wins to round out singles play. In doubles, Ashland freshman Evan Schleining and junior Kevin Spears teamed up at the No. 1 spot to pick apart Sam Neman and Cyman Huang 6-1, 6-1; and Grizz senior Jacob Doty and junior Tyler Coke won their No. 2 doubles match over Chris ZeDieg and Ken Slammon 6-1, 6-1. Ashland's No. 3 doubles team, made up of freshman Ross Mather and sophomore Jer-wei Chang, sacked Nick Westfall and Tyler Van Burnt 6-1, 6-2; and the Grizz No. 4 doubles team of freshman Cory Lescher and senior Chris Newton pulled out a tight first set en route to a 6-4, 6-0 win over Mike Heater and Kris Bellenhauser. "They always have a performance goal, but really (the goal is) get off the court quick," Streng said of his team, "so that you don't get yourself caught making mental or stroke errors. "I think we're pretty strong because a lot of my younger freshmen are playing extremely well, and we're working somehow, luckily, to our goal of being strong at the end. We have (three) goals: Get better in the end, be competitive when we play up in Jesuit (Friday and Saturday) and then also, we're trying to break through this quarterfinal barrier in the district tournament. The last two years we've had everybody in the quarterfinals and then they lose, so we're trying to break through that this year." The team win sets up today's clash with Roseburg, another top SOC team. The match starts at 4 p.m. at Hunter Park. Lloyd had the hardest time among Ashland's top-three singles players, which isn't saying much. He barely broke a sweat against Kamalion in the first set, then won five straight after falling behind 1-0 in the second. Kamalion was overmatched in every phase of the game against Lloyd, an athletic baseline player who runs down everything and is adept at keeping the ball in play. The two engaged in few rallies longer than four shots, which seemed to be Kamalion's crush depth. "He wasn't getting many of his first serves in," Lloyd said, "and I was utilizing my backhand a lot. I've been practicing my backhand a lot lately, and my forehand as well, and my serves ... I was just playing at the top of my game, making sure every ball was in and just trying to do my best." Four of the first six games ended with a Kamalion unforced error, and another was laid to rest when Kamalion double-faulted into the net. The second set was slightly more competitive, but Lloyd's consistency and Kamalion's lack thereof again proved to be the difference. In Game 1 of the second set Lloyd netted a forehand approach shot on deuce to waste a 40-30 lead and fall behind 1-0. That was the high point for Kamalion. It didn't take long for Lloyd to get it back. He broke Kamalion seven points later, kicking off a five-game winning streak that pretty much sucked out any drama left. Kamalion broke Lloyd to snap the streak and make it 5-2, but Lloyd broke right back - at love - to end it. Appropriately, Kamalion double-faulted on match point. "I don't think I played very well, but I look forward to the Jesuit (tournament)," Lloyd said. "I hope to play No. 2 singles (at the Jesuit tourney) and win that, but there's going to be some stiff competition." The Jesuit extravaganza, one of the most competitive pre-state tourneys in the state, will be held Friday and Saturday at Jesuit High in Beaverton. Ashland High Girls Tennis At Grants Pass, the Grizz girls were nearly as dominant as their male counterparts in an 8-1 win over the Grants Pass Cavers Monday, winning every match other than the one at No. 1 singles. Ashland improved to 5-2 in the Southern Oregon Conference and will visit Roseburg for another SOC match at 4 p.m. today. Senior Amy Koskella and sophomores Lauren Sargent, Kendall Danielle and Camille Morris all delivered singles wins for the Grizzlies. In doubles play, senior Ali Gardiner and junior Jessica Baker combined for the Grizzlies to beat Beth Wessels and Jessica Albertson 6-4, 6-2; and Ashland juniors Sam Holtey and Rachel Frires won the closest match of the day over Nicole Hicks and Arial Siemens, 4-6, 7-5, 6-4. Ashland High Girls Golf At Klamath Falls, Ashland freshman Stephanie Johns finished third overall, leading the Grizzlies to a second-place team finish in Monday's all-Southern Oregon Conference tournament at Reames Country Club. Johns, who's been a top-three performer all season, shot an 88, nine strokes off the pace set by medalist Jennifer Gaston of Roseburg. Roseburg won the meet with a team score of 369, well ahead of Ashland's 394. There's one more regular season SOC meet left - Monday at Eagle Point - before the district meet, May 2-3 at Medford's Rogue Valley Country Club. Also for the Grizzlies, Bianca Montagnino carded a 94, Kelly Thompson finished with an even 100 and Emiko Kimura came in at 112. Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Ashland Daily Tidings | Corvallis Gazette-Times | | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | Springfield News | Cottage Grove Sentinel | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2001 Lee Northwest Publishing